Congressional Democrats have something more important to consider than their popularity -- their jobs. And as a result an important discussion continues to take place among them and party leaders: In what direction should the party lean in 2010?

Let's see if the media can be a bit more objective in their coverage of this issue.

And if you do consider the following from Politico.com's Josh Gerstein:

Eight years ago, another president, George W. Bush, was on vacation when another fanatic, 'show bomber' Richard Reid, tried to detonate a bomb on a trans-Atlantic flight.

It was six whole days before Bush made public remarks about the episode -- which revealed gaping holes in U.S. intelligence and screening systems – but the GOP didn't peep back them, and 'there were virtually no complaints from the press or any opposition Democrats that his response was sluggish or inadequate,' Gerstein writes.

So, tell me...what exactly made what Reid did worthy of presidential silence while what Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab did required an immediate and consistent presidential response?

'An alleged attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration -- if there were one.

'Instead, the post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has held up President Obama's nominee in an effort to prevent TSA workers from joining a labor union. DeMint, in a statement, said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged attempted attack in Detroit 'is a perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA.'

'For now, DeMint said, the TSA has 'flexibility to make real-time decisions that allowed it to quickly improve security measures in response to this attempted attack.' He said that if organized labor were involved, union bosses would have the power 'to veto or delay future security improvements at our airports.' Two Senate committees have given their bipartisan blessing to Erroll Southers, a former FBI special agent and a counterterrorism expert who is Obama's nominee. But DeMint has objected to a full Senate vote, saying he wants additional testimony to clarify Southers's stand on unionizing the TSA, a shift Democrats support.'

There are serious discussions underway in the television industry about whether the free TV model (meaning you are not charged to view the channel and advertisers provide the dollars to keep that station afloat) is sustainable.

The ramifications are obvious. I wonder if there is an opportunity for the public to demand that its money be used for a commitment to covering national and international news without the bombast and opinion-screaming that dominates cable "news" programming.

These kinds of reports are worth your time (no pun intended) -- provided they come from reputable media sources. Be cognizant that in this polarized media environment, it is more difficult to find individual journalists or news agencies that don't have an overt agenda or bias. Nevertheless, take the time to explore various sites to determine what the media are saying about the president.

The government -- openly defiant to the world in various areas -- has kicked out of the country journalists from mainstream media organizations. But clearly the various media reports that are getting out and the numerous blog and YouTube reports demonstrates that Tehran is failing to control the story.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

No doubt, TMZ.com has scooped the mainstream media on at least two significant stories this year -- the death of Michael Jackson, and the accident and subsequent revelation of the many affairs of Tiger Woods.

Meanwhile, today's protests in Iran, which included the deaths of at least nine people, provides further evidence that the government lacks the public's respect. With that, its authority to lead remains nil.

In short, while Afghanistan is the principal focus of attention for the Obama administration (and therefore the media that, based on multiple academic research, regularly follows the lead of the White House in their coverage of the world) right now, the situation could change.

People who commit these acts are often described in some form or another as unstable, and I'm not doubting that. But we shouldn't forget that any society (or leader) that prides itself on openness is always susceptible to such acts. No, I'm not advocating for the installation of some worldwide North Korea-like system; instead I'm saying that there is no security system that can be described as "perfect" that also protects a person's privacy.

In short, as 2009 winds down Iran's domestic and international situation looks no better than it did at the beginning of the year. In fact, considering the June elections -- which international observers maintain was flawed -- and the government's response to it, one could say that Iran appears to be a bigger international problem than it was 12 months ago.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

This wonderful display of Christmas cheer, as reported by Politico.com:

Republicans are stepping up efforts to convince more House Democrats to switch parties and are focusing on Rep. Chris Carney (D-Penn.), who has been asked by Sen. John McCain about making such a move, a top GOP official tells POLITICO.

The parents of the so-called "balloon boy" learned today that perpetuating a hoax that led to multiple police agencies attempting to catch a little boy who was never in a balloon; included nationwide media coverage; and was followed by ridicule and scorn equals strong penalties.

We also can hope that the media that fawn over these desperate-for-attention people will think twice about giving them what they want.

You cannot blame communications companies for demanding that there be a more comprehensive system for gathering ratings in this multi-platform universe. The traditional idea of people sitting in front of the television is a relic of the past, and it's not just the youngest generations taking advantage of the computer or a download service in order to "watch" their favorite programs.

Adjust...or become part of the past. That strain is being felt in the newspaper industry, as well. Welcome to the 21st century, where new can be old in about 10 minutes.

2ND UPDATE: 4:00 P.M. EST: This from the Washington Post: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that a vote on final passage of a health-care reform bill will take place at 8 a.m. Dec. 24. It will be followed by a vote on increasing the federal debt ceiling, the leaders said.

There are legitimate questions being asked about deals that Senate majority leader Harry Reid cut in an effort to get the necessary 60 votes to cut off any Republican-led delays in getting a vote to the floor.

Regardless of your opinion of President Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, I hope you will acknowledge that it is the place where America's war effort should have been focused over the majority of this decade. That is not to say that a war in Iraq has crippled the opportunity for America and her allies to "win" in Afghanistan, but it does suggest that our nation would like not be as divided about war if other choices had been made by other administrations.

More germane to today, it also is not fair to compare any war to another; however, it is inevitable that will happen as the media, Democrats, Republicans, think tanks and other agencies weigh in on how the "surge" in Afghanistan is working. The comparison to Iraq is going to happen. So too will there be comparisons to previous nations who invaded Afghanistan.

Monday, December 21, 2009

This brief story from the competing Washington Post of course doesn't fully highlight all the reasons for the decision, but it at least offers some insight into why a new generation of family leadership is viewing its role differently than the previous one.

Iran is a fascinating country, and its rich history and culture has been subsumed over the past 25 years by the government. It also has not helped that a continuous negative relationship with the United States has ensured an entire generation of Americans has been raised to view Iran as hostile. Sadly, that hostility too often carries over to a knee-jerk dismissal of the Iranian people.

There is an important study that an academic scholar can undertake, in light of today's decision by PBS to subscribe to Nielsen ratings: how does the content of these programs change, if at all, knowing that ratings are being posted for them?

This country has never been closer to an agreement on comprehensive health care reform; and anyone who thinks the president is being bombastic by suggesting if this Congress doesn't bring it to fruition than no future body will, is simply wrong. In my opinion, the American people would be the losers because the health care system can be improved.

Consider this as a corollary: Departments or schools within colleges and universities review their curriculum on a consistent basis. Doing so ensures that the courses being offered best reflect what students need to know now and into the future. Of course, as those future trends change, then the course offerings are altered. Perhaps a required class is moved to an elective, or another course is dropped; the goal is to continually provide the best education possible to students.

This comprehensive reform of the health care system is the equivalent of decades of not reviewing and updating the curriculum. The students suffer if educational offerings are not enhanced and changed with the times. Thus, today the American people are paying the price of entrenched special-interest groups (among others) pandering to fear and outright distortion in an attempt to prevent the delivery of a better health care system.

If those efforts succeed, then Americans lose. And we will be left walking "up and down the boulevard" as we can "sing the blues."

Saturday, December 19, 2009

THE CLIMATE DEAL REACHED BETWEEN THE U.S., CHINA AND OTHER GREAT POWERS on Friday night is so vague, hastily hatched and non-binding President Obama isn't even sure he'll be required to sign it. 'You know, it raises an interesting question as to whether technically there's actually a signature... It's not a legally binding agreement, I don't know what the protocols are,' said a bleary-eyed Obama, before hopping in Air Force One for the trip back to Washington. Even as he left, it wasn't clear that the pact Obama described as 'meaningful' would even pass muster with the European Union – or attract enough votes with the 193-nation COP 15 conference to become an official declaration.

It's unclear how many nations, particularly poorer countries who felt shut out of the process, were included in the final deal or how they will vote if the deal is put to one. It's also unclear how the president's half-a-loaf approach will sit with a deadlocked Senate or the Africans, Europeans and Asians who view him as the quintessential 21st Century leader. Obama's allies say he got the best deal possible, and set the stage for a better result next year at the climate change conference in Mexico City. 'The agreement reached tonight in Copenhagen is a breakthrough in the global effort to combat the climate crisis and could not have been reached without President Obama's active involvement and leadership,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement.

'Today's agreement takes the first important steps toward true transparency and accountability in an international climate agreement,' said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund. 'The sooner the U.S. speaks through Senate legislation, the sooner we can set the terms of engagement for talks to come.' Earlier Friday, a visibly angry Obama threw down the gauntlet at China and other developing nations, declaring that the time has come 'not to talk but to act' on climate change. Obama's public ultimatum kicked off a furious round of bilateral negotiations between the world's two largest pollution emitters as the conference entered its final hours, with Obama plunging into a pair of bargaining sessions involving Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who had earlier boycotted a larger, multi-nation meeting with Obama. -- with Louise Roug, Lisa Lerer and Fred Barbash

The president is not sure he's going to be required to sign it? Great. Just great.

A filibuster-proof vote for health care reform. This news brief comes from the Washington Post:

Sen. Ben Nelson, the final Democratic holdout on health care, was prepared to announce to his caucus Saturday morning that he would support the Senate reform bill, clearing the way for final passage by Christmas.

When it comes to climate change -- at least for now -- something is better than nothing. And I repeat a question I asked earlier this week: Is the near collapse of the Copenhagen conference a result of political cowardice or something too complex for leaders with diverse interests to agree upon?

Rob Owen is the television critic for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Here is his summary of how Pittsburgh's local television stations did (or didn't) cover the unexpected freezing rain and ice that hit the city Sunday morning:

Pittsburghers woke up to an ice storm Sunday morning that coated roads with the thinnest layer of ice and had local TV stations scrambling to find ways to report on a story when they could not send crews into the field.

Well, most stations, but not KDKA-TV. At 8 a.m., a televangelist droned on and at 8:30 a public affairs show aired in its usual time slot. I received this e-mail from a viewer named Hal, who works in commercial real estate: "Please wake up KDKA-TV and tell them there is currently a major weather event. They don't even have a crawl on the screen let alone coverage. They're asleep. Please wake them."

Although I did not see it, KDKA did scroll weather and road closing information, according to news director Coleen Marren. And she said KDKA.com, which can be operated remotely, was also "constantly updated Sunday morning."

She said because KDKA-TV has no regularly scheduled Sunday morning newscast, there was no production crew on hand to put reporters on the air. Station executives opted not to call a crew in due to the hazardous road conditions. No changes to their staffing are planned.

"This was such a unique circumstance," Marren said. "When there's snow, you can use a 4-wheel drive. ... It's hard to imagine another situation like this."

Except, perhaps, another Sunday morning ice storm.

Viewer Hal went on complain about stations' self-promotion and what he perceives as often needless weather scrolls, but he said, "This is one time where they should have been out there, and they have miserably failed."

Often I'm critical, too, when local stations don't move away from breaking news coverage once there's nothing left to say, but in this case, with the parkways shut down, continuing coverage seemed warranted. That doesn't mean it will always be the best coverage or that there won't be repetition, but it is worth keeping viewers apprised as conditions change. And for viewers put out by that coverage, there's an easy solution: Turn off the TV.

WTAE and WPXI do offer Sunday morning newscasts and had staffers on duty, but they had to take more creative approaches to coverage because it would be dangerous to send reporters and photographers out on the road.

WPXI had weathercaster Kevin Benson on with anchor Kimberly Easton, who was also on duty during the April police shootings. Easton was pretty animated as she tried to fill air time ("Where do you think you're going? You're not gonna get anywhere!"), and the station won the early award for best video for scenes that appeared to be shot outside the station's Summer Hill facility of cars sliding down a road and smashing into other vehicles.

On WTAE, phone calls from eyewitnesses and staffers (Kelly Frey, Erin Kienzle) and the use of traffic cameras (pretty effective) had to suffice in the early going. Anchor Janelle Hall handled the live coverage with the same even-keeled calm she showed during the April shootings.

China’s climate negotiators have told Western counterparts they can’t agree to an “operational agreement” on climate change that President Obama had hoped to achieve before arriving in Copenhagen -- and will push instead for a short, noncommittal collective statement at the end of the talks, according to American delegation sources.

And so the question: Have world leaders again demonstrated their cowardice when it comes to climate change, or is simply unrealistic for that diverse group to agree on what constitutes real change?

Officials from Washington University in St. Louis and the Danforth Foundation – including John C. Danforth, former U.S. Senator and former Ambassador to the United Nations, and William H. Webster, chairman, Homeland Security Advisory Council, past director of FBI and CIA – will unveil plans for a scholarly and educational center that will focus on the role of religion in politics, to be named the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics.

As with so many political issues, your answer almost certainly depends upon where you stand on the political spectrum.

So, here's the question: Was President Obama's decision to write a letter to North Korean president Kim Jong Il "reaching out" to make the world a safer place? Or was it another example of a "weak" president "caving in" to a despot?

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Yes, that term when it applies to sports is thrown around too often, and too often without proper context.

But tonight, historic applies to the 4-team, 9-player deal that sees two Cy Young Award winners being part of the same deal. And why is that historic? Because it has never happened in the history of Major League Baseball.

We ought not forget that baseball's (non-existent) common sense economic policies played a role in this. One of the teams involved -- the Toronto Blue Jays -- knew one of those Cy Young winners was going to ditch them after the 2010 season for "greener" pastures.

Senate Democratic leaders said Monday that they were preparedto drop a proposed expansion of Medicare and make other changes in sweeping health legislation as they tried to rally their caucus in hopes of passing the bill before Christmas.

Under the proposal, uninsured people ages 55 to 64 could purchase Medicare coverage. The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, floated the idea about 10 days ago as a way to break an intraparty impasse over his earlier proposal to create a government-run health insurance plan.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

But the larger issue is which university president will have the courage to suggest the time is now to back off the pursuit of big-time athletics.

In the last couple of weeks, two second-tier universities -- Northeastern and Hofstra -- have chosen to shut down their football programs. It will take a more high-profile institution to make such a move before a serious discussion can continue.

I'm a huge fan of college sports, and I was fortunate to see it played at its highest level, as a student and a journalist. But over time I've come to question the supposition that "big-time" athletic programs are consistent with the larger aims of a university.

The decision by the University of Alabama to delay the start of the spring semester because of its football program's participation in the so-called national championship game sends a message that is difficult to defend.

I understand that at major institutions the football team is a primary public relations element; it brings national attention to the campus, offers prospective students a sense of what "life" at that school might be like, and allows the entire campus community to celebrate sporting achievements.

But I also understand that the larger the athletic program is allowed to become, the less believable is that school's contention that its "student-athletes" are in fact not "athletes."

Saturday, December 12, 2009

I'm a proponent of such deals, but I maintain that the rubber meets the road on these deals when an unexpected event happens at these otherwise (supposedly) benign events. For example, a gun-toting protester shows up at a city council meeting, and only TV Station A is at the event. How does the videographer for TV Station A handle this, knowing there are two news directors demanding that video immediately?

Friday, December 11, 2009

The link above summarizes a session I attended yesterday, as the annual Middle States Commission on Higher Education continued in Philadelphia. The conference wraps up late this morning.

The aforementioned story does an acceptable job of summarizing what assessment is, and why it is important for all colleges and universities to do. It also highlights the inevitable tension that will result if a university's administration and faculty are not working together to complete the many tasks associated with accreditation.

An excerpt (from Mike Allen's Politico.com Playbook) of President Obama's remarks this morning from Oslo, where he accepted the Nobel Prize for Peace:

'Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world: I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. ... I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize – Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela – my accomplishments are slight. ... [W]e are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict ....

'[A]s a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason. So let us reach for the world that OUGHT to be – that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. [APPLAUSE] ... We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity. We can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that – for that is the story of human progress; that is the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.'

The closing of Editor and Publisher (and Kirkus Reviews) offers just the latest example of the volatility in the media. When I read news such as this, I am reminded of a prediction made by a media expert (and unfortunately I cannot remember who it was) who said legacy publications should not consider themselves immune from the economic downturn. He added that in his opinion multiple legacy publications -- magazine and newspaper -- would shut their doors in 2009 or 2010.

In our politically charged political climate, it should come as no surprise that the decision to name George Stephanopoulos as host of Good Morning America would be seen by some as a reinforcement of the liberal media.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenstahl notes that the network was able to pull off the retirement of Charles Gibson, the promotion of Diane Sawyer from GMA to World News and Stephanopolous from This Week to GMA with very little attention.

Instead a formal rebuke of the governor has been called for. The governor's travels to Argentina, where he visited his mistress, was one of the scandals-of-the-moment during the summer. The affair was not the principal thrust of the investigation; rather, lawmakers were examining a variety of ethics charges against Sanford.

Tiger Woods' admission of "transgressions" and the lingering uncertainty about what exactly caused his one-car accident in the early hours on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend are damaging his credibility.

Woods has chosen to disappear from the public eye; he has not spoken to the media since the accident, and last week he skipped a golf tournament in which he serves as sponsor. He also is not being seen in advertisements, something consistent with his image over the past years.

These reasons alone offer evidence that Woods ought to re-think the public relations strategy he has adopted. Granted, he's attempting to protect his family and his privacy; but being Tiger Woods ensures that is impossible. And the consistent series of stories from women claiming they had affairs with him are adding to the pressure to do more than issue a statement on his Web site.

Well, with apologies to Willie Nelson, I need to get on the road this morning. I'm heading to Philadelphia for the annual Middle States Commission on Higher Education annual conference. The name might not sound all that exciting, but there is no doubting the importance of the organization -- it is the agency that accredits colleges and universities in the part of the country in which I live.

My university -- Point Park University -- undergoes its accreditation review in about 15 months. I'm one of about 8 Point Park administrators or faculty attending the 3-day conference that begins later today.

So instead of my usual blog in the morning...look for a few posts from me later today.

The populist Republican is trying to convince people he's a conservative now that his opponent in the primary for Senate, former House Speaker Marco Rubio, has cut considerably into Crist's lead in the polls with a conservative message.

In the most extreme example of Crist reinventing himself, the governor denied endorsing the $787 billion federal stimulus and put out a radio ad in October criticizing President Barack Obama for trying to spend his way to prosperity. Crist clearly did endorse the package in February, saying it would help re-ignite the economy.

Choosing or changing positions based on what's politically popular is nothing new for Crist. Whether it's abortion laws, oil drilling or even the politicians he associates with, Crist can be a political chameleon.

Crist ... associated himself with Bush's brother, President George W. Bush, when it was convenient, and dissociated himself from him when it wasn't. Immediately after the 2006 primary, Crist proudly stood with the president during a fundraiser that took in $3.3 million for the Florida GOP - most of which was used to help elect Crist. But the day before that November's election, he refused to join the president at a Florida event to rally Republican voters. At the time, the president's approval rating was low and he was only traveling to areas where his help was wanted. The White House was surprised and embarrassed when Crist said at the last minute that he wouldn't appear with Bush. Schedules had already been printed listing Crist as announcing him.'

Democrats are again befuddled at Independent Joe Lieberman, who has made himself a scarce presence as the negotiations over health care reform intensify.

A prediction: If the Democrats lose seats in 2010 and therefore no longer approach the 60 needed for a super-majority, Sen. Lieberman will be stripped of any leadership posts he holds and will be told by the Democrats that he is free to align with whomever he wants.

The issue here is not FOX News and its news bias, nor whether another news organization is attempting to de-legitimize FOX News. Instead, I see it as something larger -- why are news organizations using journalists as analysts?

Yes, I know it's a standard practice, but what do we really learn when multiple journalists -- essentially covering the same stories and talking to the same group of sources -- discuss a news issue with each other?

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Leave it to a high-profile coach to take the luster off college football's Selection Sunday. And leave it to a handful of sports "journalists" who cover (or perhaps shill for?) Notre Dame football to contribute to it.

First, the setup:Former Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis accused USC football coach Pete Carroll, who is married, of having an affair and living with an unnamed graduate student. (Please note the aforementioned link has been edited by IrishIllustrated.com and the comments about Carroll have been deleted.) A short time later Weis apologized. Interestingly, Carroll accepted the apology and shut off any further comment about the matter.

Let me add at this point it appears no one has asked Carroll to unequivocally deny he is involved in an extra-marital affair. If someone has, and I missed it, then I will update this portion of this post.

Returning to the Weis allegation, it was this paragraph from an ESPN report that caught my attention and serves as the purpose for this post:Weis made the controversial comments while speaking to five handpicked reporters in South Bend, Ind., at Hannah & Friends, the nonprofit organization founded by Weis and his wife, Maura, designed to help children and adults with special needs. Hannah is one of Weis' children.

Five handpicked reporters? Handpicked by whom? And why? Moreover, why is it that the journalist -- from IrishIllustrated.com -- chose to report what Weis had said without apparently pressing Weis for details about a startling charge? Did senior editor Tim Prister really quote Weis and then move on to another question without doing what Weis' comments demanded -- asking a follow-up question?

If so, what a startling display of non-journalistic principles.

Consider again what Weis was quoted as saying: "Let me ask you this question: You guys know about things that go on in different places. Was I living with a grad student in Malibu, or was I living with my wife in my house? You could bet that if I were living with a grad student here in South Bend, it would be national news.

"He's doing it in Malibu and it's not national news. What's the difference? I don't understand. Why is it OK for one guy to do things like that, but for me, I'm scrutinized when I swear. I'm sorry for swearing; absolve my sins."

How can a journalist possibly let that go without compelling Weis to validate the charge?

This entire story will go away within a day or so. But there is an important lesson about journalists remembering that they can make the news when they fail to do their jobs responsibly. Editing a report so as to take out some controversial words is not an example of that.

...1. it is never easy to go through a season undefeated; 2. going wire-to-wire as the #1 team might be harder; 3. on any given day, a heavy underdog can pull off a shocker; 4. the BCS is an inferior way to determine the sports' national champion.

There has been, in my opinion, less-than-expected attention devoted by the media to the recent decisions by leaders at Hofstra and Northeastern universities to shut down their football programs because of high costs and low fan interest.

I wonder how much media attention will come when universities begin to make an even more painful decision -- to slash academic programs.

Iowa State University is facing those choices, as its president recently spelled out in a letter to the university's faculty, staff and students.

No one wins when an athletic or academic program is cut. But if there is transparency in those discussions, and decisions are made based upon solid evidence (and not the whim or preferences of selected leaders) then the criticism must be muted.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Welcome to compromise. And as Politico.com's Martin Kady II notes, that's the theme as the health care discussions continue in the Senate:

The path to 60 is still a long, long way away, but here's a few deals that could be made before Christmas to get the bill through the Senate:

1.Getting a public option compromise. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is working on a trigger deal that could lure Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) but still hold together the rest of the Democrats.

2. Stronger abortion language. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), another Democratic holdout, has an abortion amendment – it may not pass intact but some tweak to abortion restrictions may buy his support.

3. Sweetener for Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). If the first two of these fall into place, all Harry Reid may need is something that brings along moderate holdout Lincoln – though it's not clear what she's asking for behind the scenes.

That's a lot of ifs and buts in a big, complicated debate that favors minority party maneuvers to delay and filibuster at every turn. But the beginning of votes today may be the spark needed to start cutting deals.

The media -- like a shark -- were waiting for the blood. Today, they got it. Now we're about to learn how they will attack.

Of course I'm referring to the "news" that Tiger Woods was not faithful to his wife.

I have maintained on multiple occasions on this blog that the personal lives of public figures is not news. I'm not saying that when something significant happens that it ought not be reported. The accident that Mr. Woods had last week was news. The announcement he made today that there were "transgressions" in his life is news.

But I am saying that the lusting for every detail in this "scandal" demeans the news organization that engages in such behavior.

Let's admit that over the next days (and perhaps weeks) the media will go on a feeding frenzy as they seek to uncover any woman who can claim to have had a relationship of any kind with Tiger Woods. These individuals will take advantage of a "news" environment in which countless numbers of media organizations will devote time, resources and attention to a non-story. They also will sacrifice their own integrity for a few moments in the media spotlight. And for what?

Earlier today, a California woman was identified as having had a near 2-1/2 year affair with Woods, who has been married about 5 years and has two children. Her claims appear to be bolstered by a voice mail she says is of Woods alerting her that his wife was aware of her. Media reports also indicate she has text messages sent to her by the golfer. To describe her as bitter might be kind.

A few days ago another woman was linked to Woods. She has denied it.

Does the public really care about this nonsense that passes as news? More importantly, does a news organization think it is serving the public's interest by offering this dribble as news?

I'm not attempting to defend what Mr. Woods has done. I can see no defense for (likely) carrying on relationships with more than one woman while being married. But what I am saying is that the constant attention afforded this story with little, if any, social significance fails to serve the public and fails to demonstrate a real commitment to providing relevant information to the public.

The idea that because it is Tiger Woods that his extra-marital affairs is newsworthy is specious. Woods is recognized and admired for his extraordinary golf ability. He is without a doubt the best golfer of this generation, and he might be the best professional golfer of all-time. Those statements allow for his affair to become "news"? Really?

Yes, the "news" of his affair (affairs?) shatters the image of Woods as a larger-than-life hero who "deserved" to be worshiped like an idol. That statement allows for his affair to become "news"? Really?

The media will cover every aspect of this story because of the multiple angles it has: sex, scandal, a scorned woman, a tarnished hero and confused fans. In short, the media will offer you significant and daily helpings of chocolate cake -- no nutritional value but something that tastes good.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

No, it's not poker, but without a doubt President Obama will raise the stakes tonight when he formally lays out his plans for America's increased military presence in Afghanistan.

It seems the most pertinent details have been leaked to the media -- and the absence of a blowback from the White House indicates to me that the president is comfortable that the public has had time to digest what he will say tonight. That message will justify an increase by more than 30,000 the number of American forces in Afghanistan and an expected timetable for when those troops can be expected to return home.

I'm maintained on this blog that the war in Afghanistan will define the Obama presidency in ways similar to how the war in Iraq defined the Bush administration. No, the circumstances are not identical, but there is enough there to warrant the comparison.

Those factors include (and this is not an exhaustive list):1. Doubt about whether troops ought to be sent2. A lack of clarity regarding how success will be defined3. Fear that the U.S. forces will be targets4. Loud voices of protest at home5. A heavy financial cost at a time when America needs to tighten its financial belt

Of course, you should watch the president's address tonight -- the imagery of him at West Point is powerful and symbolic. But his message is more important.